Karin's Rainbow Gathering 2014 news and ideas for creating a safe, fun and healing annual gathering of the tribes somewhere in the State of Nevada or Utah, July 1 - 7, 2014.
As with all things related to Rainbow Gatherings, this is not an official source of information and represents my thoughts and opinions only. Other people will have different ideas. Due to excessive spam, comments are now being moderated.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Getting Into the Gathering

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket!!!Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, lack of insurance, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.

8 comments:

I would like to add that many times when a gatherer ticketee has made the appearance in court, the ticket has been dismissed for all kinds of obscure legal distinctions, lack of evidence being one of the most common ones. Several times there have been so many people at a mass court session at the end of the day that all those remaining in line had their tickets dismissed.

Make sure all your lights work and your licence plate stickers are up to date. My state doesn't require a front license plate, but I put a store bought arty one on the front rather than leave the bumper naked. And no danglies hanging anywhere that would obscure your view thru the windshield.

Please, help me to get there!!! I am able to pay a little for the transport and food, but just take me! I am here from Europe from so long, 10 months, and I want to meet intelligent friends, interested in the schience, also of living, and in the art, also of living! I love you. Can you help?

Eka...you need to post where you need a ride from, along with where you're going and when. There are many ride share boards set up for this so look around (I don't have links handy or else I'd post em)...Good Luck!

My kid Stevie, he's actually 21, is stuck in Jeffersonville MO and is tryin to get to the gathering in Utah. Could you or someone at least give me one link if you can think of one to a rideshare site? I've gone to a few gathering sites and it's all very confusing. Or maybe a family member in Missouri could share a couch till he finds a ride. Thanks for any help.